GP crisis putting patients' lives at risk

GPs out-of-hours services have come under strong criticism today, with doctors claiming that the provision is putting patients lives at risk.

The service has been attacked in the past by doctors who have said that the system is under-funded.

But now a motion has been tabled for the next conference of the British Medical Association (BMA), the professional association for doctors, claiming the lack of money has meant that the quality of care patients receive from the provision puts their lives in danger.

Financial difficulties

Dr Andy Stewart, from Gunnislake, Cornwall, who drafted the motion, told the Daily Mail: "We are concerned that underfunding from central Government, plus the financial difficulties of primary care trusts, will result in a service that isn't as safe."

Doctors from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly region have tabled a motion for the BMA meeting next week warning: "The Government's failure to fund the out-of-hours service adequately is putting patients lives at risk."

GPs were responsible for providing the out-of-hours service, but under new contracts introduced last April, most family doctors opted out of providing the service and accepted a pay cut of £6,000.

Government failure

The service was taken on by NHS Primary Care Trusts, which can provide the service in-house or contract it out to other operators.

GPs also told the paper that locum doctors were being bussed into some parts of the country to provide the out-of-hours provision, but had no knowledge of the locality or the system,

And that some doctors were having to travel as much as 80 miles to reach patients.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "We do not believe patients are at risk. This Government made it clear in March 2004 that it is absolutely essential that whenever a patient needs to see a GP out of hours, they can do so.

"They Government has provided more than £300 million in resources this year to help fund local NHS provision of out-of-hour services."